The Federal Government has begun talks with the World Bank for three new loans totaling $1.5 billion, even as Nigeria’s public debt reached a record ₦166.79 trillion at the end of June 2026.
Documents from the World Bank show the proposed package consists of three separate $500 million facilities focused on climate resilience, social protection, and early childhood development.
All would come from the International Development Association (IDA), the Bank’s concessional lending arm.
The most advanced request is a $500 million additional financing for the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project.
The World Bank’s board is scheduled to consider it on October 29, 2026. If approved, the funding would increase ACReSAL’s total size from $700 million to $1.2 billion.
The Federal Ministry of Environment would implement the project.
The extra funds are intended to expand landscape restoration, watershed rehabilitation, erosion and flood control, irrigation, water storage, reforestation, and other climate-resilient measures across 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Of the $500 million, $310 million would go to dryland management, $165 million to community climate resilience, and $25 million to institutional strengthening.
The World Bank notes that desertification and land degradation already affect about 43 percent of Nigeria’s land area. Without stronger action on climate change, GDP could shrink by roughly 2.6 percent annually by 2030 and up to 6.7 percent by 2050.
The second proposed loan is a $500 million IDA credit for the Household Prosperity and Empowerment-Social Protection (HOPE-SP) Project. It is still at an earlier stage, with a technical design review set for October 30, 2026, and tentative board approval on March 16, 2027.
The Federal Ministry of Finance is the borrower, while the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction would implement it.
The programme aims to deliver regular cash transfers (both unconditional and conditional) to poor and vulnerable households, modernise the social registry, link it to the National Identification Number system, and gradually shift funding responsibility to federal and state budgets.
The third $500 million facility would support the Nigeria Early Childhood Development programme, with a planned approval date of March 15, 2027.
It would improve access to integrated health, nutrition, early learning, childcare, water, and sanitation services for children aged 0–5 across all 36 states and the FCT.
These borrowing plans come as Nigeria’s total public debt rose 9.44 percent year-on-year to ₦166.79 trillion in June 2026.
In dollar terms, the debt climbed more sharply, from $99.66 billion to $120.93 billion, reflecting exchange-rate movements and new liabilities. Domestic debt still accounts for the larger share (about 55 percent), while external debt makes up the rest.
Nigeria’s outstanding debt to the World Bank Group stood at $20.73 billion at the end of June, making the institution the country’s single largest external creditor.
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